Throughout the pandemic, Indiana paid out all of the money it had -- a little less than $1 billion -- in a rainy day fund meant for unemployed workers. To continue paying unemployment benefits, the state began borrowing money from the federal government.

More than 400,000 Hoosiers would lose, on average, about 46 percent of their unemployment benefits under the proposed federal HEALS Act thats according to a recent analysis by The Century Foundation, a progressive think tank.

Months into the pandemic, many desperate workers say they still havent received unemployment benefits. And as many WorkOne re-employment offices reopen by appointment this week, staff fear theyll be caught in the middle between those people and the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

A little more than 30,000 Hoosiers applied for unemployment benefits last week as the economic impact of COVID-19 drags on. That adds to the quarter of a million people who continue to get unemployment benefits from the state.

DWD says it should be able to accept online unemployment insurance applications for self-employed workers starting April 24. The actual payments will begin May 4.

Under Indiana state law, unemployment benefits end after a maximum of 26 weeks. With the new federal rules from the CARES Act, the Department of Workforce Development will manage the payment of federal benefits for an additional 13 weeks.

Across the country, almost 17 million workers filed for unemployment benefits in the last three weeks due to COVID-19. That includes more than 300,000 people from Indiana.

The sheer amount and speed of layoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic are putting enormous strain on the unemployment insurance system in Indiana. It's leaving some wondering how the system works -- and if it's prepared to handle this crisis.

A new federal law gives states the ability to open up their unemployment insurance benefits to self-employed workers. But it could take weeks before Indiana receives guidance on how to actually implement that change.

Indianas unemployment insurance program has seen a significant increase in claims as business is disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak.